A Day at the Office
by Captain Harkness 4 eva
Summary: My first proper Torchwood story is released! Well what can I tell you in this summary other than its a normal day in the office, for Torchwood that is, can they manage as the threat of the 21st century preses on them? Who knows?


**Hey Isabel, Happy Birthday! Just wanted to say thanks to Isabel and Maria for your wonderful editing and giving me inspiration to write. This story is dedicated to the whole of our team and I hope you can see a little of yourselves in your characters!**

**Enjoy!**

**A Day at the Office**

**Torchwood**

**Chapter1- Doubts**

Torchwood… outside the government, beyond the police. Fighting for the future on behalf of the human race. The 21st Century is when everything changes, and Torchwood is ready.

Well, that's what Jack always said, but Ianto had his doubts that they could ever combat all the aliens with their team of five. Although Ianto did believe they were the best, he didn't believe they were ready, well not ready to take the responsibility of protecting the entirety of the human race against the threats of all alien life forms.

Owen shared Ianto's doubts. How could they work as a team to help the rest of the dawdling humans on the planet? If they, as small a team they already were, had conflicting views and ... Jack... the little knowledge they had of who he really was. How could they put their trust in some mystery man who travelled in time and could never die, and not to mention that they also didn't know his real name? But, there they were Torchwood, saving the planet from alien invasions; they just had to deal with it, much to Owens's pissedoffness.

Meanwhile quiet Tosh; she only ever believed what Jack told her. If Jack said that Torchwood was ready then Tosh believed that they were ready. Tosh admired Jack and believed he wasn't just some mystery man who pretended he knew everything about every alien that came to the planet. Well he didn't know everything about all the aliens and he was a mystery man but, ever since he saved her from the UNIT confinement she'd felt she owed something back to him. She knew her trust in him was what he needed so, being Tosh, she always followed orders and worked hard. Whatever the situation she continued to believe in Jack and he was particularly fond of her, as she worked so hard.

Welsh sweetheart, Gwen, to make the fifth team member of Torchwood. She was actually a girly girl in the middle of loving her boyfriend Rhys and her flirts with her handsome boss Jack and her occasional relationship with Owen. But she was Gwen Cooper and she had her own beliefs and doubts about Torchwood. Gwen was more the diplomatic type. No, she wasn't for the whole guns blazing idea that was for the boys. Gwen believed when the time comes she and Torchwood would be ready to fight for the planet in their unique way.

**Chapter 2- Thoughts and Coffee **

Jack had lived a long, long time and had hundreds of years of preparation and waiting. The Doctor had always said that he should look out and prepare himself for the 21st century because that is when everything changes. Jack sat in his office mulling over his thoughts. The rest of the team saw the time Jack spent in his office as laziness but It didn't bother him, nothing bothered him. He was Captain Jack Harkness. Jack was pondering over the thought of whether Torchwood was ready and if they ever would be ready. The 21st century was already looming over them but there had been no major alien invasions, only a slight increase in Rift activity and Jack had Tosh always monitoring the Rift, what could go wrong? He played with his thumbs and pushed a graceful, but muscular, hand back through his hair. What was he thinking? He was always prepared. He had waited for this moment for centuries. He was Captain Jack Harkness and he was not going to be beaten by some pathetic saying.

Tosh had noticed that since the increase in Rift activity, Jack had her constantly monitoring the Rift. Anything unusual was to be reported personally to Jack, immediately. She took care in noticing that Jack had looked paler recently, even thinner. No, it couldn't be, Jack had always kept his cool and had always been good at hiding his feelings. But she was starting to notice visible signs of stress. Captain Jack Harkness, stressed?

Ianto had noticed how long Jack spent in his office, alone. He had also noticed the constant gesture of Jack stroking his hand through his hair. Ianto worried because he knew from experience that this meant something was on Jack's mind; he only ever did this when he was stressed. Unless of course if it was Jack's hand running through Ianto's hair on the back of his head, that meant something quite different. It occurred to Ianto that he wasn't the only one to see a change in Jack recently. Owen had often eyed Ianto, suspecting Ianto knew something, but Ianto walked on oblivious to the hints Owen gave him.

After spending several hours in his office, Jack finally reappeared storming out of his office, causing a huge clatter, as the door swung open. Much to Ianto's surprise this caused his precious coffee machine to shake and let a dribble of freshly ground coffee trickle down the side of a mug. Ianto swept up the mess with an elegant touch and placed the cloth in the sink.

Jack clambered down the stairs three at a time and found his hands with a fresh mug of coffee between them as he reached the end of the staircase. He gulped down the hot brown liquid in one go, much against Ianto's appreciation. Ianto believed that every drop of coffee had to be inticising and then every drop had to be favoured and remembered. Jack moved gingerly over to the coat rack, after placing his mug back into the hands of a much displeased Ianto. But he didn't complain, he never did. Ianto swiftly moved over to Jack and helped him into his coat.

Jack walked briskly out of the cog wheel door, alerting the others that he was leaving. He gradually moved into a steady jog along the corridor and out through Ianto's tourist office entrance to the cold wet rain of Cardiff. "Lovely, just lovely!" he muttered to himself as he pulled his coat tighter and hopped over the puddles.

Tosh deftly poked her head around Owens's desk, immediately expecting Owen to be there with his hand over his chin, leaning back in his chair as he always was. But she was startled to find he was not.

As Tosh stood up from peering over Owen's desk, she soon realised where he was. Owen was deep in conversation with Ianto, beside the coffee machine. Did she really believe what her eyes were showing her, Owen having a proper, civilised, conversation, with Ianto! This truly couldn't be true. Owen and Ianto never spoke to each other, never! Owen was actually having a conversation without having to laugh or make some juvenile comment; he was totally serious, even with a serious expression. That was something Tosh didn't see every day. Tosh decided that she best leave them to it and soundlessly crept back to her desk.

Tosh logged onto her computer and swiftly brought up the police reports for the morning, nothing important. She scrolled through different articles and eye witness accounts and police sightings. She came across a murder in the park nearby, some teenager probably, she thought to herself, hardly Torchwood's field of work.

Tosh minimized the file and popped up a translation that was configuring, it was something Jack had asked her. No, not done yet, only at 24% configured. Jack would want it by the morning but what could she do? She wasn't super woman as much as Jack wanted to believe she was. With nothing to do Tosh sat back on her chair and gave it a push, just enough to swivel around and let her see that Owen and Ianto were still muttering away at each other. She also could see Gwen who was perched on the sofa on her phone. She was probably talking to Rhys. Her strong Welsh accent vibrated across the metal inside of the Hub as she rolled back on to the sofa in a fit of raucous giggles. Gwen instantly turned bright red, obviously something cheeky and exciting Rhys had suggested for their evening together but knowing Torchwood she probably might not get home until tomorrow morning. Jack would probably turn up soon, sprint across the Hub calling for Ianto to get the BIG guns from the armoury cupboard and then, as usual, she would then know she would never get home in time for Rhys.

Tosh had done a full turn back to face her computers again, 36% configured. Tosh let out a little sigh and stood up, she was in need of some strong coffee. Tosh tiptoed silently over to Ianto and Owen, still talking to each other. No matter how disbelieving it was, they carried on talking. Tosh stretched out a tired arm towards Ianto's shoulder, just to ask him politely for a coffee, when there was a huge screech from the pterodactyl as it stretched out its wings and soared across the hub. Oooopppsss! Now Ianto and Owen stopped their conversation to look up at the creature, which was now perched on the many bars holding the Hub together.

**Chapter 3- Rooftops**

The fresh, cold morning air of Cardiff city filled Jack's lungs. Standing high up above all the bustling welsh families, Jack could see children running and screaming into cars; refusing to go to school. He let a small chuckle which broadened into a huge grin. Standing on rooftops was a good feeling for Jack. It cleared his head and made him think straight; just what he needed this morning.

Ianto, knowing everything, guessed Jack would be standing on a rooftop somewhere. Possibly the Millennium Theatre, Ianto had often seen him standing up there when he arrived to work in the mornings. Jack would usually give him a salute and a wink, smiling his 100watt smile at him; visible from quite a distance!

Owen decided the matter about Jack was much too important to not carry on his "talk" with Ianto. Was that really Owen, classifying his mysterious boss Jack as important? Must be a serious matter, he thought to himself, releasing a vicious grin.

Owen continued to splurt out comments about Jack's recent mood. Ianto felt as though he was in a bubble somehow protected from Owens's antagonising opinions on Jacks behaviour. Ianto wanted to lash out at him, and rip his monkey face off his bone structure. But the bubble held him back, or was just his good nature? Ianto was suffering a feeling he often experienced a feeling, of being out of time, out of place, separate from the others. He felt, lost, he could see the others and their lives flash before his misty blue eyes, but he was... lost. Only Jack's blue gaze stood out from the entire blur around him. Ianto knew he needed Jack.

Ianto let out a burst of rage but instead of taking it out on Owen he stealthily moved across the Hub to pick up his jacket that was still in its dry cleaning bag, all pristine and clean and smelling of iron press. He was out before anyone could get a word out of their mouths. He was down and out by the bay in a matter of seconds. He let out a curse as the large, fat; raindrops fell from the sky on to his clean, suit jacket.

The abrupt silence of Gwen's piercing chuckles, led Tosh and Owen to stare at each other open mouthed for a matter of seconds. The Hub was freakishly quiet, except for the beeping of Tosh's computer still configuring the alien manuscript. Another second passed, tick tock, then the Hub was no longer silent. Instead it was filled with a clamour of booming shouts from Owen, Tosh and Gwen.

"What was that all about?" Owen belted at the top of his voice. Owen was in a fit of a rage by this point. He could no longer hold the enormous feeling he held inside. He felt venerable, like an egg about to crack. What was he thinking, chatting to Ianto about Jack? Owen had thought somehow that speaking to Ianto would allow him an insight to find out what was bothering his boss. Owen didn't like the feeling that Jack was worried, because if Jack was worried then Owen was terrified!

Tosh blurted back a response to Owen, "You really are a rotten rodent Owen!" Tosh said this trying to get some power across to Owen and alerting him to his disgraceful attitude towards Ianto. "What were you thinking talking to Ianto like that, as if he would have a clue? Do you think about what you are doing to him by blaming him? It hurts him to know that Jack is stressed. OK? So deal with it! For God sake Owen!"

Meanwhile Gwen had raced over to her desk and, had quickly brought up the CCTV of the water tower. Soon realising what Gwen was up to, Owen and Tosh brought their argument to a close and helped each other into their jackets without a word. Gwen closed the screen showing the CCTV as she had soon spotted where Ianto had run off to. She swung her leather jacket off the back of her chair and whilst running after Tosh and Owen out of the cog wheel door, put her own jacket on.

The silence returned to the Hub, except for the dim huffing and puffing of Tosh's computer, still struggling to complete the translation.

Ianto was still cursing under his breath as more raindrops soaked into his newly cleaned and ironed suit. He spotted Jack standing proud and heroic, as he always did, on the roof of the Millennium Theatre. Ianto signalled to Jack to come down.

Jack took his final breathe before he gave his coat a toss and twisted on his heel. Ianto saw a flash of Jack's coat but was distracted by Gwen calling his name as she ran towards him with Owen and Tosh. Ianto's running came to a stop as Gwen, Tosh and Owen approached him. Ideally Ianto wanted to see how Jack got off the roof; he had always wanted to see just how he did it. He decided that he would just have to face the others instead because he knew he would have to prepare himself as Owen would most likely be charging towards him, ranting about how he left in the middle of their conversation. It would also probably end with a blow to his face. So he'd better face them and prepare himself for the assault to come.

Ianto stood still and steady, adjusting his tie and trying to keep cool although adrenaline was buzzing in his ears and he could hear his own blood pumping in his head. Its steady rhythm was starting to evolve into a rapid motion. Ianto's face started to show terror and fear in his eyes, sweat trickled down the side of his face, but Ianto ignored it and continued to face Owen, ready for a fight.

Owen, full blown in an angry attitude, came flying over towards Ianto. Ianto saw it in his face that he was eager for a fight, his legs moving beyond his control as he leapt athletically over the modern Cardiff layout. His arms rose and his fingers formed fists as he neared Ianto. Owen came close to be face to face with Ianto before he let an untamed limb to come soaring towards him but Ianto being secretly skilful grabbed Owens's fist and gave it a twist, turning Owen around and ending with it pinned up to his own shoulder, in a police style arm lock.

Owen let out a yelp of pain from Ianto's surprise attack. Unable to struggle free, he let his body limp and gave in to Ianto's strength. Meanwhile Gwen and Tosh stood by, aghast by Ianto's skilful tackle, frozen to their places by shear amazement. "Alright mate, you can let me go now. I didn't mean it, not like this anyway. I'm sorry!" Owen squeezed out his apology quietly under his breath hoping he wasn't heard too clearly. "Bet I'd never hear you say that!" Ianto replied letting the defeated Owen free.

Before the conversation could get any more tense, Jack arrived, strolling casually his coat moving in the wind. Ianto immediately noticed the huge strain on Jacks face and big bags under his eyes, looking stressed. Ianto could see Tosh out of the corner of his eye; she gave him a nod, indicating to Jack, questioning Jack's unusual state. Ianto looked up at Jack longingly for an explanation in his face, but Jack gave nothing back, just stared blankly back into Ianto's eyes. All that Ianto could do was shrug his shoulders, with an expression that said "I don't know".

Meanwhile Owen and Gwen stood speechless, wondering which one of them would pop the question to Jack first. The silence was broken, "Jack, can I have a word privately please?" Gwen reached out her hand and caught the sleeve of Jack's coat, pulling him gently, towards herself, away from the others. She took his other coat sleeve and turned him to face her directly, with his broad back turned against the rest of the team. "Look, Jack, there's obviously something on yer mind." Gwen said affectionately, releasing Jack's arm. "Is it really that obvious?" said Jack fumbling over Gwen's engagement ring, cradling her hands in his. "I don't know if you noticed but we're all dead worried about you".

"Oh!" said Jack, trying to get his way out, his face exploding into a wild grin as he said it. He turned to go and join the others but Gwen grabbed at his rough hands and restricted his movement, twisting him back to face her. "This really is important Jack!" she emphasised with meaning.

"Just leave it, Gwen" growled Jack, pulling away from Gwen's grasp. Gwen tried to reach out and grab his waving coat but failed.

**Chapter Four- Back at Base**

A sign of life filled the base as a beep vibrated throughout the Hub, signalling the translation on Tosh's computer was complete. The letters: J.A.C.K.H.A.N.D.O.V.E.R.T.H.E.V.O.R.T.E.X.M.A.N.I.P.U.L.A.T.O.R.O.R.W.E.W.I.L.L.T.A.K.E.O.V.E.R.T.H.E.R.I.F.T. materialised on Tosh's screen. The computer immediately started composing the letters into words. The box in the bottom, left-hand corner of the screen, indicated the notice was from "The Time Agency".

"No use standing outside in the rain all this time, is there? C'mon team, back to the Hub!" Jack commanded whilst starting to speed up into a steady jog in the direction of the Hub. The others followed Jack; Gwen and Tosh at his heel like obedient dogs fanned out in a stylish manner.

"Tosh, Owen, Gwen, take the lift. Ianto, get the SUV, we're goin' weevil hunting!" Jack explained coming to a halt near the water tower. "Sound's fun!" exclaimed Ianto, catching the car keys Jack had thrown him. "But what do we do Jack, whilst you and coffee boy here, have some fun?" Owen emphasised. "Well, Tosh I want you checking all the Rift activity and recent police reports and please check on the translation for me." Tosh gave a polite nod. "Owen, you know, keep guard on the Weevils. Looks like the sewers are gonna flood." Before they could reply, the SUV had screeched to a halt, with Ianto in the driving seat and Jack had hopped in, rearing to go!

The smell of exhaust filled the noses of Tosh, Owen and Gwen. The big black vehicle swerved out of sight. They reluctantly gathered on the lift, hidden by the perception filter. As they descended slowly, gracefully to find a quiet and deserted Hub Owens's aggressive voice filled the silent Hub, "Typical Jack, storms off in a mood and then turns to us, as if he has done nothing wrong and sends us back to the stupid Hub! What's he playing at?" The Hub was no longer silent!

Tosh stepped graciously off the lift platform and made her way to her desk. She whipped on her glasses and flashed her eyes to view her computer screen; there was a moment of silence as she surveyed the screen to reveal a message from the Time Agency: **Jack hand over the vortex manipulator or we will take over the Rift**. Tosh was flabbergasted by the message; she ferreted among the rubble on her desk for her slim line com. Once she had found it she quickly contacted Jack. Still waiting, waiting, and waiting. No reply... waiting for a reply, he didn't answer.

Jack's com was flashing blue, unanswered, lying paralysed in his desk neatly holding down a stack of papers. Tosh's voice rang out from the main section of the Hub, "Has anybody heard from Jack, he's not answering his coms?" Owen peered out of the Hot House, with a bottle of alien plant fertiliser in his hand. "Try calling him, but I bet he won't answer. Probably too engrossed in snoging Ianto."

Gwen appeared "Oh shut up Owen, it's not like that!"

"You think?" replied Owen with a quizzical look.

Whilst Owen and Gwen continued to fire back remarks to each other about Jack and Ianto, Tosh, as silently as a mouse, crept back to her desk. She shuffled through the many items on her desk, frantically worrying about the message on her screen. Tosh could longer hear the voices of Owen and Gwen in the background but instead could feel the strong touch of Gwen's hand resting on her shoulder. "Want some help there?" Gwen inquired politely. "No, no, I'm fine. Thank you" answered Tosh, although she really wasn't. "I'm making some coffee, well, I'm going to try and make coffee. Do you want some?" Gwen said abruptly.

"Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you" Tosh had missed her chance earlier to have a coffee, when she was interrupted by the pterodactyl. Gwen walked away; she called out to Owen, who was descending from the Hot House. "Want a coffee Owen?"

"Yes babe, nice and hot!" replied a cheeky Owen.

Gwen clambered up the metal stairs, her high heeled boots clanging on the floor. Gwen was slightly embarrassed by the amount of noise she was creating, but decided there was nothing she could do about it. Once the coffee machine roared into action, she started to organize mugs for the three of them and various amounts of coffee beans per person. Ten minutes later, after struggling to get the machine working and not spluttering coffee all over the place, there was success! Three mugs of perfectly adequate, fresh ground coffee, maybe not quite at the skill of Ianto's coffee, but still coffee anyhow.

Tosh decided she best pull herself together, Jack wasn't available so she put the message aside and concentrated on the other tasks Jack had asked her to do. Rift activity, it seemed normal at the moment, but what was that? A sudden clear spike of Rift Activity at 6:04am. Tosh, being a computer genius, cross referenced the time of the spike and the message from the Time Agency. Yes! There was a definite match! What or who came through the Rift at that particular time was a mystery? Anyhow, how could she get the message across to Jack? Another flitter of panic came over Tosh's face, Jack was in danger and there was no way she could get in touch. She knew Jack would be fine, being invincible and all and unable to die, but she was always so worried for him. What would the Time Agency do to him? What could they possibly do to stop them taking over the Rift? Last time, Owen opened the Rift to save her and Jack that was an experience, it was terrible, it caused a worldwide disaster and Jack was not at all pleased.

Next, police reports. Twelve dead bodies all massacred at the neck, blood all over the victims faces. Tosh couldn't think of any way to link any of the victims, they didn't match in age, criminal records, hobbies, jobs or even where they lived. There was just no way to link them together. The perturbing images of the victims stared back at Tosh, haunting her. She knew that a mass murder of this level could only be performed by a very skilled criminal. A Weevil! Jack had mentioned that they may have weevil problems soon due to the fact that it was raining and the sewers would most likely flood, sending all the Weevils out into the city. Boy was Jack right!

Tosh mulled over her thoughts, she had to warn Jack. She would try to contact Ianto as he was bound to have his comms on even if Jack didn't have his own com. "Ianto, are you there?" No reply. Tosh heard a sound, a sound of heavy breathing. "Ianto, are you alright? Is Jack with you?" No reply. Tosh started to move away from her desk to see if Ianto's comms may be on his own desk. It was so neat, unlike her own, that she could see from a distance that it was not there. A hushed noise in her ear brought her attention, "Tosh, Toshiko, I need your help!" It was Ianto's desperate voice ringing in her ear. "I'm coming, Ianto!" Tosh quickly slipped her jacket on and ran out of the cog wheel door covering her head in attempt to protect her hair from the rain.

**Chapter Five- High Waters**

The fast rhythm of heavy breathing accompanied by the thumping sensation of blood in his ears was all that Ianto could hear. Every time his head surfaced he could feel the cold spluttering pattern of rain masking his face, soaking into his hair. The outrageous weather had caused massive floods all over the country and Ianto had seemed to get himself got in one. He only remembered being in the SUV, surrounded by high waters. The car had got stuck and could no longer move, Jack having decided that it was bound to pass soon, suggested they should stay and sit in the car. But then he had found himself ducking in and out of the water with no sign of the SUV or Jack.

Jack... what had happened to Jack? Wait... it was all flooding back. The door of the SUV at the driver's side had been wrenched off by the so called "passing flood". Ianto had been tugged out of the SUV with the door, his body had been trapped under his seatbelt which still had been done up causing him to be stuck half in the car and half out. His body had begun to sink below the line of the seatbelt and soon only his head was above the belt. The waves had thrashed him against the car and the seatbelt had started to rub at his neck.

Thoughts had flooded through his mind: either way he was going to die, no one gets to old enough to draw their pension in Torchwood, they all died young. He wanted to die alongside Jack. So, this was going to be it, he was either going to be strangled to death by his own seatbelt or he was going to be drown in a violent storm. What choice did he have?

A slow painful death by a seatbelt or a rapid death by a flood. Seatbelt or flood? Flood it was, Ianto let his head slip gracefully under his seatbelt and whispered "I love you" to Jack, who was desperately reaching out to catch Ianto's drifting hand. As Ianto was carried away, a yell was heard from the SUV, "Noooo!" The flood took Ianto along and he heard the distinctive voice of Tosh in his ear, he still had his comms, her voice faded as once again he was pulled under water. As he had resurfaced it had taken him a couple of seconds to answerer her. He had managed to get a quiet, "Tosh, Toshiko, I need your help!" uncertain if Tosh had heard him, he was swept downstream along with many debris.

Now he was still, moving along the flood, with the SUV and Jack way out of sight. He could feel a huge seizing of pain at the back of his head, a great wave of pain swept over him and everything went blank, he was lost in the darkness, suddenly a calm voice like a nightingale brought him out of it. Tosh.

Tosh had grabbed her PDA as she had rushed out of the Hub; she had got a fix on Ianto's comms. He seemed to be moving very fast, down, down Davis Row. There was no way he could be running that fast down a street and he wasn't in the SUV as Tosh had a fix on that which was stationary, further up the street. How was he moving so fast? Why did he need her help? Tosh had forgotten all about Jack, she had been so worried for him earlier. Tosh had also forgotten that she was standing in the middle of the pouring Cardiff rain, she was also in a puddle of knee height and had no car!

Tosh tried to manoeuvre herself out of the hug puddle she had got herself stuck in. She tried tugging at her soaked trough jeans, forcing her legs out of the water. Oh no! She had lost a heel; she ducked down, plunging her arm in the cold water, trying to retrieve her lost shoe. A gentleman walking by glanced at her; he stopped and faced her. "Need a hand there, love?" Tosh slowly stood up her shoe retrieved, and stared at the gentleman, he looked familiar. Tosh thought back to when she had met him, oh yes! She remembered a friend of Rhys' she had met at Gwen's wedding; his name was something along the line of Banana. "I'm allergic to bananas, remember?" Tosh replied wittily.

"I, 'member love, but you're stuck!" replied Banana, wading over to her and surprisingly gracefully lifted her up into his arms. Banana splashed about a bit but successfully brought Tosh across the large puddle and placed her gently back down on the drier ground. As Tosh's feet reached the ground she gave Banana a sweet "Thank you!" and trotted off back to the Hub.

Gwen carried the coffee mugs carefully over to the main area of the Hub. Gwen peered over the top of the coffee mug, glancing occasionally at the floor to make sure she the surface was even and that she wasn't going to trip. She headed towards Tosh's desk, which Gwen later discovered that in fact it was empty, Tosh wasn't there. Gwen swept a careful eye across the room as she placed the now cooling mug of coffee on the only clear spot on Tosh's desk. Where was Tosh? She hadn't heard her leave and she didn't say anything about going anywhere. Before she could ponder on the thought any longer Owen peered out of the autopsy room, after examining a recent victim of a Weevil attack. "Got that coffee, for me babe?" called out Owen reaching the main Hub area, whilst pulling off a bloodied pair of surgical gloves and dumping them in the nearby bin.

"Yeah, got it right here!" answered Gwen who was still pondering on the thought of where Tosh had gone. "You took your time!" replied Owen alerting Gwen and awakening her out of her day dream. Gwen placed the other coffee into the grubby hands of Owen and turned her back on him. At that moment Tosh walked in soaked to the bone, obviously worried about something. Owen and Gwen stood speechless, open mouthed as Tosh swiftly moved passed them and sifted among her clattered desk aimlessly. As she acknowledged her coffee she turned to face Owen and Gwen, who had closed their gaping mouths. "You look dripping, dead gorgeous Tosh. Been to a party?" Owen said letting out a smirk, as he turned to his desk to retrieve his own coffee. Tosh only took a sip of coffee then she looked at Owen stared at him blankly without saying a word. "Ignore him, Tosh, can I drive you home and get you some dry clothes?" asked Gwen calmly. Tosh looked up from her mug, as she remembered Gwen had a car. "I didn't think the forecast said rain today?" Tosh shook her head before saying "Actually, I need to borrow your car, if that's ok?" Gwen startled by Tosh's reply and took a moment to answer, "Oh... yeah of course, let me get me keys." stuttered Gwen as she moved to her jacket, hanging on the back of the sofa and searching among her various pockets for the keys to her Saab.

Jack's subconscious mind was playing the scene over and over again in his mind. He kept seeing the image of Ianto's hand slipping away from his reach as he had been whisked away by the tremendous flood. Jack could also remember climbing out of the SUV's window, he had clambered on to the bonnet of the SUV, which was not quite submersed under water yet and had taken a faithful leap into the icy water after his beloved Ianto.

Now he felt the sudden beating of his heart and the rising and lowering of his chest as he was dragged out of death, he gave a huge gulp and gasp of air as his lungs and his heart started pumping again. Along with the beating of his heart and the inhaling and exhaling of his lungs, he could also feel a soaring pain in his heart, he had lost Ianto. Did he really love him that much? He wasn't sure; he hardly knew who he was himself. Living forever meant he never had to be the same person and he never could afford to fall in love, as one day that person would die and Jack would be standing at their grave looking just as he had when they had first met. That was why he never stayed in a relationship for very long. He just could not afford to be human, because he wasn't human.

Jack gave a big, deep breath and used all his muscle to pull himself up. Whenever he recovered from death it always left him dizzy. He got to his feet and slowly opened his eyes to find he could no longer see his feet. They were obstructed by a large piece of wood, injected into his heart, at least one meter long, possibly from the debris that was floating in the water. He was more annoyed with himself than feeling any kind of pain or sorrow for himself. He had got used to the pain of dying, and now only saw it as an annoyance, this time it had prevented him from saving Ianto. He tried breaking bits off the large splinter of wood, but it was pretty useless, he would have to wait until he returned to the Hub but that was only after he had found Ianto.

As Jack steadied himself he noticed he was washed up on a pavement a lamppost bent next to him, he looked behind himself and saw a street sign indicating he was on Davis row. As he pulled his sodden coat straight, he looked out across at the threatening wild waters ahead, which had taken his lover and once again took a faithful leap into the icy waters, gripping on a floating log downstream, eyes peeled for Ianto's unmistakeable maroon shirt and smart suit.

Tosh caught Gwen's keys to her Saab with one graceful hand as she gulped down the rest of her coffee and placed the empty mug into the hands of a still startled Gwen. She gave a quick and chirpy "Thanks!" and turned to leave but was stopped as Gwen's hand reached her shoulder and pulled her back. Gwen had had enough with Tosh dashing in and out of the Hub without saying a word; she couldn't deal with the whole secrecy part of Torchwood. Not knowing even who Jack was, was bad enough, but not Tosh, she was her friend.

"Look Tosh, there is obviously something wrong" – "Can we help at all?" Gwen added as Owen appeared behind her. Tosh was speechless; she looked between Owens's and Gwen's eyes questioningly. "Ianto needs my help" Tosh muttered under her breath, but loud enough that Owen and Gwen could hear her. "We'll come with you then!" answered Owen enthusiastically. And they both grabbed their jackets, without leaving Tosh a minute to think about it. They were all off and the Hub returned to its humble silence.

**Chapter Six- The Rescue**

Ianto woke to the sound of tin foil, he tried turning to his left, but the pain in his head had spread down his neck and across his shoulders, restricting his movement. Ianto tried opening his eyes, but his vision was blurry and he only caught a glimpse of an obscured Tosh, before his eyes closed again. Ianto struggled to recall how he had got here, but gave up on the idea and instead let himself fall back into the arms of Tosh. "I think he needs more pain killers!" suggested Tosh.

"Coming, right up!" answered a perky Owen. He was in a good mood, because this is where his real influence in Torchwood was helpful, helping others, as a medic that is. He also felt on this particular occasion, that helping Ianto recover would help resolve his earlier situation in aiming to punch Ianto for running off. So being as obedient as Owen was under Tosh's control, he trotted off to the boot of Gwen's car to retrieve the medi pack, with the painkillers and returned as gleefully as he left, but still serious about the situation.

Ianto felt a numb, prick and twinge in his left thigh. He knew it was the pain killers he needed, he recognised Owens gentle but skilful touch, Torchwood were so lucky to have such a brilliant doctor on board and Ianto was grateful of Owen. Ianto pulled an awkward arm from the tin foil blanket, which was keeping him warm, and brought it out to give Owen a tap on the back. It showed his appreciation of Owen helping him and he even managed to see Owen smile as Ianto whispered "I forgive you". Ianto let his eyes close again, as he was manoeuvred on to the back seats, of Gwen's brand new Saab, still moderately unconscious from the blow he had taken on the back of his head.

Gwen took to the driver's seat, Tosh in the passenger seat beside her and Owen knelt down in the back, watching over Ianto as he lolled in and out of consciousness. It was a little tight in Gwen's car, but they managed, they had to, and under the circumstance it was their only transport. So doing as well as they could, they took off at a good speed, bearing in mind that Ianto was not too well, and poor Owen was squished on the floor at the rear of the car. They were in a hurry to find Jack and as they drove on they all kept their eyes peeled on the lookout for him, except for Ianto of course.

Jack had been washed downstream for many hours now, clinging on to the floating log, his only chance of finding Ianto. He just wouldn't give up hope; there was a huge amount of flood debris floating around but still no sign of Ianto. His arms were begging to tire and his boots were becoming very heavy with the water, his coat was also beginning to weigh him down but he didn't give up hope on finding Ianto. Jack was starting to struggle to keep hold of the log and that was when he noticed Ianto's head ducking in and out of the water ahead of him, seemingly unconscious, Jack was so pleased that he had finally found Ianto!

Jack reached out with the last of his strength to save Ianto; he managed to get both of his tired arms under Ianto's shoulders. Still balancing his own weight on the log, he was able to lift Ianto out of the water, so that his head was no longer in the water. Ianto was heavy in his arms but this only made Jack hold on even tighter. Jack reached over and gave a quick kiss on Ianto's head whispering "I love you too!", even though he knew Ianto was unconscious he still thought it would mean something and deep down he was hoping that Ianto had heard him and that it might make him feel a little better. He had probably been hit over the head by some debris as he could see there was a little blood tangled in the mess of his hair, but it was mostly washed away with the water.

The pain of the splinter of wood piercing Jack's heart was starting to be unbearable, even for him, he wasn't going to last much longer and that was when Jack saw his opportunity. A small clearing in the river bank, he could easily glide across the water and make it to the bank, where he could drop himself and Ianto. They then could make the rest of their journey back by foot, well at least Jack could walk, as for Ianto, Jack would have to carry him across his shoulders. It may have looked impossible, but for Jack, anything was possible. Besides Jack didn't think he could carry on any longer, with his body constantly fighting from the infection from the wood he was bound to die again, and he couldn't risk losing Ianto again. Not now.

Jack made a big kick, heaving himself and Ianto across the rapids, much against the direction the water was flowing. It took a few more effortless kicks and they made it. Jack manoeuvred himself so that he could drag Ianto safely onto the side; there was a short moment, when they lay there beside each other. Jack panting like a dog and Ianto very much like a log, still, dormant, frozen to the spot, but still breathing. Relief washed over Jack's face, he could manage now, and he let himself lie in the sun for a few more moments, attempting to dry his sodden clothes. Jack looked over to Ianto, smiling a quizzical smile as he noticed Ianto's torn shirt, showing a little flesh, which was already visibly bruised. Jack was imagining the image of Ianto ranting on about the terrible state of his clothes. Jack reassured himself that Ianto was definitely going to come round and work would return to its normal self, but what Jack didn't expect was what happened next. Jack's vortex manipulator started to flash blue and made a warning sound and within seconds, Ianto was lying alone, with only a mark of water, indicating where Jack was previously lying.

Before much longer Ianto was accompanied by Tosh and Gwen, kneeling either side of him. Gwen was cradling his head, and Tosh checking for any major injuries, as Owen was fumbling amongst the clutter in Gwen's car boot for the tin foil blanket, that they had brought with them, as part of the medi pack. "Found it!" exclaimed Owen as he trotted back to where Ianto was lying.

Tosh helped Owen wrap the blanket around Ianto, and gasped as their hands met each other, but instead of making anything out of it she lowered her head and continued to wrap the blanket, which was made of tin foil to keep most of the body heat in, around Ianto, so that he was completely covered except for his head. Gwen continued to cradle Ianto's head between her knees. Ianto only mumbled as he lay helpless in the care of his friends. The team were so busy in helping their valued coffee maker, recover that they didn't take one second to notice where their boss was previously lying, his mark still left on the ground beside Ianto, but invisible to the eyes of the team urgently looking somewhere else.

**Chapter Seven- A Captain out of his time**

Jack lay paralysed in a confined box. All the walls were made of a frosted glass, used to disorientate the person inside, but Jack new better than this. There was a recognisable metal tang in the air, something clicked in Jack's mind, he was in The Time Agency Headquarters, in one of the confinement cells, in fact he could confirm he was in cell one, he could tell this by how dim voices from the other fellow Time Agents, who were gathered in the main hall, quite nearby were. Jack rattled his fists on the glass walls in protest to his confinement. "Let me out, under Torchwood protocol 1902 order you to let me out. Captain...Jack...Harkness...order...1...9...0...2..." Jack's attempt of release was worthless, no one came, and the voices that were once nearby now drifted off until there was complete silence. Jack released his firm fists and brought his arms close beside him, feeling a tight squeeze on his shoulders as he did this. Jack also remembered from experience in his previous years working for The Time Agency, that cell one was one of the smaller cells, and therefore he could start to feel the tightness begin to crush his large shoulders.

"He's gonna be a hard patient to deal with I'm telling you!"

"Yes well... er I think we can see that from his previous records, but thank you for pointing it out Mr. John Hart!"

"Actually it's Captain John Hart... Captain, know it with the sarcasm!" and with that John walked away from the computer screen, at which the rest of the senior agents were gathered around, peering at the screen which was showing the CCTV of cell one, the cell Jack was being kept in.

"Yes, well we are going to have to finally deal with him, for the last and final time!"

" Well I will go and speak to him myself and force him to hand over that Vortex Manipulator over, we can't leave him unguarded with that gadget, he could do anything with it!" Implied Captain Lucifer proving his authority as he tried to stretch himself longer but it made no difference and his trials were a failure.

"And besides he is no longer working for the Time Agency and therefore should not be entitled to its use."

Jack stood tall and tried straightening himself up, his light brown hair skimming the roof of the cell as he did so. Jack pressed his ear close to the glass, straining to hear if he could depict any recognisable voices from his previous years in The Time Agency, he listened as carefully as he could but he could only hear faint footsteps and a far off clatter of voices, nothing Jack he could recognise. But as Jack slumped back on the wall of the confinement cell, the door swung open and a shaft of blinding light glared at Jack's sharp blue eyes. A figure stepped into the light, from the short silhouette came a deep voice "Mr. Harkness, follow me please" Jack quickly linked the deep voice and the stout figure with Captain Lucifer, The leader of The Time Agency.

Jack never liked the man, and he never liked Jack because he would always tower over him like a giant and all the other Time Agents preferred Jack's witty sense of humour to the sincere personality of Captain Lucifer.

Jack stepped gracefully out of the small confinement cell, stretching out his large shoulders, in a big movement much to Captain Lucifer's disagreement, as he was in a hot tempered mood and wanted to start moving, briskly down the wide orange tinted corridor without delay. Before he bothered to wait any longer for Jack, he shot off in an awkward speed-walk down the left-wing main corridor leading to the court-room, his short stubby legs struggling beneath him as he tried to power onwards at speed. Jack easily caught up with Lucifer as his long legs allowed him to take big strides, this added even more to his bad mood. On their way they passed many fellow Time Agents, some Jack smiled to in recognition, others passed by oblivious to who Jack was. Jack noticed some trainee agents with confused looks all over their faces and others who were obviously a higher rank, marched by swiftly.

The two Captains reached the end of the corridor and Lucifer took the opportunity of Jack's hesitation, to take a sharp left and managed to gain little distance in front of him. He waddled awkwardly on his tow short legs and Jack followed obediently behind him, with a slight gait in his step but very much authoritive, a stylish swagger. Jack chuckled to himself, light wrinkles appearing around his eyes and his white toothed smile, as he watched Lucifer waddled in front of him trying to show his authority over Jack by marching in front of him. But Jack carried the natural grace and attitude of authority.

Owen had, had enough his cramped body was begging to ache, as he was cornered behind the passenger seat and the back seats on which Ianto still lay wounded. "Come on Jacks still nowhere to be seen, we are going round like head-less chickens, let's head back to the Hub!" he explained. "But we can't leave Jack, not in this weather" Tosh said panicky with a worried face. "Owen has a point, Jack's a big boy, he can look after himself" and with that Gwen made a sudden turn swerving her car sharply back in the direction of the Hub.

As the team drove back towards the base, they noticed their large, black SUV, stationary amidst the violent rapids, "Gwen stop, it's the SUV! Whoa, Ianto won't be happy with that upholstery now!" Owen mentioned. "Ok, you take the SUV" Gwen explained to Owen, as Owen scrambled out of the back of the black Saab, he exclaimed "So I will, Cooper!" and Gwen replied "And drive carefully!" but her remark was crushed by the sound of the car door slamming, as Owe had departed. Gwen kept the car stationary with its engine still running, she waited a few moments, casting a careful glance making sure Owen made his way into the big, black vehicle safely.

Owen cursed to himself as he climbed out of the warm but cramped security of Gwen's miniature car, to the cold, wet pattern of the rain, which immediately spread throughout his clothes and hair, reaching his pale flesh and making it cold. The coldness disturbingly reminded him of the cold, dead body waiting for him on the autopsy table in the dampness of the Hub. Hefting himself into the SUV, the black leather seats soaked through, were no more comforting than the beating rain from out of its shelter.

Owen ferreted among his pockets for the spare set of car keys to the SUV. He smiled gleefully to himself for having the initiative to bring them with him, and retrieved them from his jean pocket to place them into the vehicle ready to start. The engine roared and the automatic Sat Nav kicked in, as well as the computers which lit up the back of the car. Owen turned the wind screen wiper on and hissed at the steady pace on which the heating came in." Such an advanced car, but the heating is bloody awful" Owen moved his stiff legs with great effort as his jeans had got soaked right up to the knee as he had tried to reach the SUV through the flood and had got sodden in doing so. So with a sigh of effort he heaved his feet into position and the SUV moved away leaving Jack lost and stranded alone, somewhere out there.

Gwen and Tosh saw the black vehicle rev out of sight and trailed behind it. The journey back to the Hub seemed long; the steady beating of the rain was a peaceful beat in the silent atmosphere. The car was deathly quiet, Gwen and Tosh sat without saying a word, instead the silence spoke between them. Tosh kept her thoughts to herself, and let the continuous drumming of rain carry her thoughts away, her eyes were slowly closing as she was about to give in to the comfort of sleep, she was jolted awake as the car came to an abrupt stall. She heard the mumble of complaint from Ianto in the back as he awoke and the clicking of the seatbelt followed by the slamming of the door as Gwen got out of the car.

Tosh moved swiftly, ashamed that she had fallen asleep during work. She neatened up her hair and stiffly let out a sharp yawn before she clambered out of her seat. Tosh and Gwen stood speechless as they stood either side of Gwen's car, they eyed each other across the roof of the car still without saying a word, and a simple nod from Gwen reassured Tosh that she would tell neither Jack nor Owen that she had fallen asleep during work.

Owen sauntered over to the Saab he looked as pale as a dead corpse, he thoughtfully checked how Ianto was and poured a little water into his parched mouth, the cold liquid trickled out daintily running across the surface of his skin. The stretching stillness was interrupted as Ianto bolted upright spluttering water all over Owens face " Lovely!" he muttered as he stared back at his friends face drenched with regret. With the help of Gwen, Owen had Ianto standing. As Tosh locked the car the high sonorous beep filled the car park and Ianto limped ahead with Owen and Gwen as supports either side of him.

**Chapter Eight- Home is where love is**

Tosh rushed over to her desk with a strong determination to bring Jack back, she swung her bag on to her desk scattering paperwork and coloured post-it notes everywhere. Owen and Gwen came clambering in after her as Ianto limbered helplessly complaining at every movement wincing in pain as he pathetically struggled to get over to the autopsy table. "I think you'll be fine, just sit on the sofa for a while" instructed Owen, Gwen helped Ianto to the sofa and made sure he was comfortable with a glass of water.

Tosh scanned the computer screen, she noticed the message from the Time Agency still showing. She smiled to herself and whispered "It's ok Jack, I am super-woman!" and with that Tosh cross-calculated the Time signature of the Rift Activity at 6:04am and its frequency with the wavelength and the coordinates of the Hub. Owen came up behind her and put a firm hand on her shoulder, "If you need me I'll be cleaning the autopsy table" he said this gracefully and meaningfully, unlike his usual sarcastic quotes. The love between them may have not been obvious, and often Owen acted that he was not interested in Tosh at all, however he only knew himself that himself and Tosh had the deepest love of all the Torchwood members. And this gracious gesture allowed Tosh to know someone did love her truly. Tosh replied gratefully. "Thanks, Owen!" and then immediately returned to her mission.

Gwen busied herself by checking on Ianto constantly, caring for him as a mother would her son. She got him a fresh new shirt and took out another of his pin-striped three pieces suits from the tourist office entrance cupboard. She handed him his new set of clothes and helped him to wander over to the coffee machine where he could change acceptably. She left him to change and went over to the autopsy bay where she helped clear the gurney in silence until they were interposed by a shout from the main area of the Hub that belonged to Tosh "He's home!" rang throughout the Hub and a body began to materialise on the autopsy table.

Lucifer walked briskly. He held the door open to a court room. As Jack strolled through the door he noticed a placard indicating that it was Court Room 4. As Jack walked briskly into the room, his greatcoat flagging behind him, he observed the judge and lawyer dressed in traditional Time Agency costumes. Their long red velvet robes, that brushed the surface of the floor, seemed out of place in the stylish orange, metallic feel of the court room and surrounding tunnels of corridors. Jack brought his feet tighter and gave a smart saluted addressing the judge and lawyer politely. Jack was shown to his place in one of the rows of complex wooden benches that circled the round room at different levels.

Lucifer took his place in the seat assigned for the prosecutor opposite Jack, who was standing steadily in the box allocated to the accused. As he stood brave as ever in the hot stuffy court room, he allowed his clothes to dry in the heat for they were still sodden wet from earlier. There were no windows in the circular room. The absence of natural light made the atmosphere feel very claustrophobic, but perhaps that was how the judge and lawyer wanted the accused to feel, as to force every inch of information out of you. Jack thought about this and a voice in the distant reality calling him "Mr Harkness?" reminded him that he was Captain Jack and getting information out of him was as easy as getting blood out of a stone. He would never give in and he had been through some pretty awful torture in his life, and that was a very long life.

Jacks senses soon came back to him and as reality kicked in he straightened himself up and stared harshly into the blank faces of the judge and lawyer. Meanwhile Lucifer cleared his throat and brought his arms down behind his back ready for the hearing. As the judge read out the title of the case Jack suddenly realised what he was in the Time Agency for, but before he could challenge the case he was surrounded by a neon blue glow. His vortex manipulator silently flashing blue as he was teleported home. He went unnoticed to the judge and lawyer eagerly reading the claims of Jacks trial and as Lucifer was inspecting how shiny his shoes were he to, did not notice the disappearance of Jack.

Jack felt the cold, rigid edge of the autopsy table. He could hear a mix of voices. Out of one ear he could hear the final lines of his case belonging to the stern voice of the judge in the Time Agency, but this petered out and instead his vision and hearing was filled with the sound of home. Tosh sat nervously beside Jack with hope in her soft brown eyes; Gwen was holding his rough worn hand and toying with his fingers. Meanwhile Owen was already examining the large intruding piece of wood in Jacks heart, keen to help his wounded boss.

As Jack became fully aware of his surroundings and his vision and hearing returned to normal he gave a sign to Owen to not to worry about his injury explaining it would heal and close up in no time, just as it was already visibly doing so. Jack looked into a pair of soft brown eyes and smooth tanned skin perfectly shaped as if carved by the waves of the sea. He turned his head and looked up into the entrancing brown eyes of another with a pale skin with markings and lines all over her face but Jack loved each and every imperfection of her face. The beauty of both these women could never compare to the richness and loyalty of the hearts of every one of Jacks team: Owen, Ianto, Gwen and Tosh and this deeply reminded the deepest recess of Jack's soul that home is where love is, and right now he was at home.

"My two favourite ladies!" Jack suddenly exclaimed cheerfully and wrapped an arm around both Tosh and Gwen's waists pulling then swiftly towards him as he said this. Ianto was standing at the top of the stairs of the autopsy bay looking down on the others, he rolled his eyes and as Jack made this comment and took to his usual pose of his hands on his low waisted suit trousers, standing innocent as a puppy dog, pulling a comparatively suited puppy dog face. With that Jack jumped up from the gurney and trotted up the stairs to the main Hub area and leaped up the final stairs, elegantly to reach his office. Before he trotted off he thanked Owen for his help and gave him a manly punch, Owen punched him back and for a few seconds they were fighting like young boys in a school yard.

In Jack's office there was silence and Jack could take in the peaceful thought of being safe at home on his own. Tosh had explained to him how she had managed to bring him back and showed him the message from the Time Agency whilst clarifying that the Time Agency would no longer be able to control his vortex manipulator as she had changed the frequency and it was now connected to. This made him relaxed that he would not suddenly disappear again. In his office he got out a fresh pale blue shirt and took off his tattered old one and as he slipped it off gently, preventing any further damage, he felt the light fingers of somebody's hand running up and down his back tentatively. He caught the hand and spun round to face the body it belonged to. His vision was filled with the tender face of Gwen, who giggled as Jack kept his hold of her hand. He moved her hand to his bare skin and placed it on his beating heart and whispered into her ear, pushing back a few strands of hair that "Home is where love is!" Gwen giggle once more as Jacks hot breath tickled her ear and pulled away to let him finish changing. As Jack stepped into his new pair of trousers a familiar shout was heard "Rift Activity!" followed by the usual siren of awareness that indicated it was a normal day at the office. Jaxk came down the stairs in a matter of seconds and as he charged down the damp corridors with his loyal team at his feet he knew as well as the rest of them, that together they were ready for anything the 21st century might bring the, because they were TORCHWOOD!


End file.
